The first exhibition of 2003 spotlights the work of two wood-firing potters, both Fellows of the Craft Potters Association, who are making their second visits to the Harlequin Gallery.

Alphabetically, the first of these is Ian Gregory with a departure from the work that has become his trademark. After giving up his singing and acting careers back when televisions were black and white and singles were 45rpm, Ian has built his reputation on figurative sculpture in salt glaze and raku. However, this exhibition will be something completely different, comprising solely of Ian's vessels that have resulted from his interest and expertise in modern kiln technology. The kiln used was built of fibre and paper clay and gives similar effects to an anagama kiln with less effort. Ian estimates that the kiln uses about a quarter of the wood needed for a conventional brick built kiln due to its heat retaining properties. This is not only economical and kinder to the environment but also means that there is considerably less stoking over the 3-day firing period.

Mark Griffiths, who had a solo exhibition at the Harlequin in 1997, was apprenticed to a traditional working potter before setting up his own workshop in South Shropshire at the age of twenty. Now over 25 years later, Mark continues to work in Shropshire where he is best known for his stoneware and terracotta garden pots. These have given him a reputation as one of the best "large ware" throwers in the country and have resulted in several large commissions for the National Trust. However the Harlequin show will concentrate on Mark's real passion, namely wood-fired domestic stoneware pots. These have simple robust shapes and are fired in kilns fuelled with offcuts from local sawmills. They bear testimony as Mark says, "to years of trial and much error". Glaze materials are gathered locally in order to produce the quiet timeless quality of the work and a proportion of the pots will be salt glazed.